Stress Is a Most Frightening Adversary 1 Kings 19:1-8, NIV Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them." Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. Introduction Today I would like to share the grace of God entitled, “Stress Is a Most Frightening Adversary”. Many fatal diseases such as cancer, cerebral accident, and myocardial infarction are reportedly attributed to stress. About 70 % of diseases people suffer from result from stress. However we don’t find any Bible character that died of a stress-related disease like cancer. The genealogy of Shem shows us that they all lived according to their full destiny. The term “stress” was first employed within a biological context by H. Selye who later broadened the definition to also include physiological responses to any demand. Stress is caused by pressure and will often result in depression. 1. Why do we suffer from stress? Why do we suffer from stress? Why are our lives under pressure called stress? Can we live a stress free-life on earth? If our lives are overwhelmed with all kinds of trials, sufferings and difficulties, we often become afraid and get discouraged to the point of experiencing great stress. Those who believe in Jesus and pray in faith can endure stressful situations. We have heavenly support. But those who don’t have faith in God and try to rely on their own strength cannot endure the pressure of stress. They get easily crushed. Let us look at Job who lost all his children and possessions. His horrendous loss was crowned with ultimate stress when his wife finally cursing him and left. Job was left to suffer with his body broken down with boils from stress, and he in Job 3:25 he lamented: “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.” Job seemed to have an inclination towards worry and fear. Even when he was enjoying prosperity and the comfort of family, Job had an occasional tendency towards depression. He feared for his future and would often worry that “something bad will happen to me’. He was stressed out. He had been afraid of his future. His unfounded, fretful mental state became his ruin as what he feared the most eventually ‘visited his house.’ When real or imagined troubles and trials beset us we will often despair and think “I am not going to make it.” Testimonies have proofed that people become overwhelmed not by their problems alone but by the excessive worrying, care, anxiety, and despair that consumes them during their times of struggles. Stress causes cerebral hemorrhaging, heart attacks, stomach ulcers, irritability, nervous breakdowns, insomnia etc. Stress causes people to stumble and fall. Elijah, God’s man for his times, challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest. He said to the people. “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” 1 Kings 19:1 says: “Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.” The Lord glorified Himself by consuming the sacrifice of Elijah. When the people saw the clear victory of the Lord they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God!” By Elijah’s command the people seized the 450 prophets of Baal and executed them. Jezebel heard from her husband what had happened with the sacrifices and prophets of Baal, and she was very angry. On another occasion Elijah prayed and God sent the rain he had promised to end the three year drought Israel was suffering under. Jezebel also heard about Elijah, and her anger exploded. With a trembling voice she swore revenge: “By this time tomorrow I will get rid of Elijah. He cannot live.” Even though Elijah did great things through God he became very much afraid when he heard of Jezebel’s anger towards him. Nobody can boast about his deeds. When Elijah relaxed he received a threat that caused him to lose his courage and literally run for his life. He fled to Beersheba, where he left his servant and journeyed another day into the desert. At one point Elijah rested under a broom tree and prayed to die. 1 Kings 19:2 says: “So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, ‘May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.’” After Elijah heard Jezebel’s threat he became afraid and intimidated. Fear and anxiety causes stress in our hearts. 1 Kings 19:3-4 says: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’” What can we say? Even a great man like Elijah experienced great stress and wanted to die. Today people often consider suicide when under great stress. Stress may be a natural reaction to undue pressure in our lives but it is, nonetheless, difficult to overcome. More often than not stress overshadows our courage and hope with discouragement and despair. 2. Why was Jesus free from stress? Scripture tells us that Jesus did not give in to stress, even when he was pressed on every side by many people. Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law threatened Jesus all the time. Roman authority also persecuted him. Jesus neither had his own home to sleep in nor money to buy his food. Scripture records Him as ministering and wandering from place to place. Jesus went through many toils and suffering but he did not get stressed out. How could he be free from stress? If I were him I could not endure. Jesus can teach us how to overcome stress. I asked Him one time: “Lord, please let me know how You overcame stress? I will keep it our secret. Tell me how.” He smiled at me. “No greed, no stress!” “Is it so simple?” “Yes it is! There would be no stress without covetous desires. James 1:14-15 says: “But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Status, honor, power, wealth all is mine! What if I lost whatever I possess? What if someone who is stronger than me comes and takes it from me? What if someone pushes me away? People become stressed out when they harbor greed in their hearts and hang on to what they possess. 1 Timothy 6:9 says: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” There appears to be a chain reaction. As soon as people fall into greed they stumble into ruin and destruction. We should put the burdens of our lives on the Lord. It is not easy to leave our burdens with Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” And Psalm 68:19 says: “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” Jesus, who is able to bear our burdens daily, is there for us. 1 Peter 5:7 says:“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” God would say to us today: “I died because of your burdens and problems. Why are you then still carrying them?” Your freedom from burdens and problems was freely given to you 2000 years ago. Jesus paid the full penalty of our burdens on the cross. However people do not believe this. We should believe this and commit everything to the Lord. How did Jesus carry our burdens away? Before His crucifixion, Jesus realized that His time had come and He suffered great torment. As he went to the Mount of Olives, he said to his disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” But he was not crushed because of stress. Why? He was in so much agony. He knew exactly what kind of death he was about to endure. “Hahahaha… I’m going to die on the cross. Hahaha! I’m happy.” If a person responded to this level of stress with laughter, they would be deemed as insane. If a man would be close to being crucified, he would surely feel great stress inside his heart. A normal person would keenly perceive his impending doom. “I will soon die on the cross.” Jesus knelt down before God and asked of His Father: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Within Jesus’ prayer to His Father lies His cure from stress. “Not as I will, but as you will.” People suffer from stress because they hang on to their own wills. Jesus let his will go. He said, “I desire to avoid this horrible death but I will let my Father decide as he wills.” He committed everything to HIs Father. Stress came to Jesus but he passed the stress on to His Father who decreed from the beginning of time that “It is my will that you be crucified on the cross.” And Jesus was willing for “it to be done as God willed.” Jesus accepted his fate. If we accept the will of God we will not suffer from stress; but man has a bent to resisting his destiny. We feverishly endeavor to avoid God’s will in situations even if we suffer from great stress. It is important for us to commit everything to the Lord. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We should cry out to God until the peace of God comes to us. His peace will come to guard our hearts. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Scripture teaches us that our God does not want us to carry worry, anxiety, restlessness, or despair. God wants us to have His peace in our hearts not stress. There is only one way to receive His peace and that is to cast all our burdens onto Him. We need to continually go to Jesus, commit our stress to him and reject it from our hearts. When our God is with us, we can overcome stress of any kind. When we believe in Jesus, He gives us His strength to shake off stress. We do not remove stress with our own strength. Jesus’ death is my death, Jesus’ resurrection is my resurrection, and Jesus’ life is my life. When we completely lean on Jesus, we will live a life of courage and peace in our hearts. When we rely on Him, we will have His peace, not our greed in our hearts. We will be able to cast our burdens on him, completely trust and not carry our own heavy burdens. If we fill our hearts with Jesus, there will not be any room for greed and stress. Jesus demonstrated that his life on earth was stress-free. He did not harbor greed in his heart. He committed all things into His Father’s hands, and was able to totally obey His will. 3. The recovery of Elijah What about Elijah who endured great stress? Stress seized Elijah when he least expected it. Through him God was greatly glorified when the sacrifices and prophets of Baal were destroyed. However a carefree spirit proves to be our great enemy. Elijah prayed to God that rain would end the drought that Israel was enduring. It may be that after Elijah saw such great demonstrations of God’s power, he became careless. It may be that Elijah became relieved and presumed that the people of Israel would turn to God. In a brief moment of inattentiveness, Elijah was taken unaware by great stress. He lost his confidence and became much afraid. He, who was so strong and mighty in front of people, turned and fled for his life into the desert from people. He sat down under a broom tree wanting to die. He almost considered suicide. “Lord, I have had enough! Take my life.” 1 Kings 19:5-7 says, “Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’” Elijah found himself alone in the desert. He slept, ate bread and drank water. God sent an angel to Elijah. The angel touched him. This is important. When we are in great agony of heart, when we are suffering; if somebody comes and touches our hearts, we can readily overcome our difficulties. Encouragement and touch can bring healing. A time of stress is not an occasion to scold or correct someone. Rather a time of stress is an opportunity for another to comfort and encourage that person. What did the angel do? Scripture does not tell us if the angel stroked Elijah’s head, whether he kissed or massaged him. We are only told the angel touched him. Please listen to me husbands! When your wife is upset or under stress, instead of saying “You are not the only one who… Why are you so peculiar on this matter?” Instead of opening your mouth, touch her. Don’t try to argue with her but softly touch her. On the other hand, wives when your husbands come home please try to understand them. Your husband may have to fiercely compete to survive the market place. He may come home to you under great stress. When he laments about his life please do not talk to him too much but just touch him. You can minister relieve from his stress by letting him lay his head on your lap, and by stroking it. It is the nature of man to want to withdraw socially when under stress. A man generally cannot stand alone but we read that even though Elijah did not do anything special when he was alone; he was able to control his stress sufficiently enough to still eat and sleep. It is better not to give council to a person who is under great stress. Do not say “fast, or attend an overnight prayer meeting;” but rather prepare a neat and clean bed and let him sleep at home. Let him take nourishment and touch him. Then he will recover from his stress. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “(God) who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Comfort is what we need. The Lord comes in all our troubles and comforts us. Jesus said in John 14:16-18, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth. … But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” God sent the Paraclete which means “Comforter” to every believer. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit came and stays in us. When we are in trouble the Holy Spirit prays for us and comforts us. We can get strength from the Holy Spirit. We have the power to overcome our difficulties. Physical exercise as well helps us manage our stress. Jogging is a good way to deal with our stress. Walking is another helpful way to release stress. God let Elijah go on a journey to the Mount of Horeb. The Mount Horeb is about 400 km from Beersheba. Take to a road. Whether you walk or jog you are going to use your feet. Walking gives you the best mental boost. Walking improves blood circulation to your whole body. Walking lets you reduce stress and relieve fatigue. You will get healthy even with small bouts of walking. Walking has lots of benefits. Today people add stress upon stress by simply driving their vehicles instead of walking. Let us try to find a chance to walk as often as possible. 1 Kings 19:8 says: “So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.” Elijah walked for forty days and forty nights, for one month and ten days. He had plenty of time to clear his mind so that his stress would be released. Maybe if we walked for one month and ten days, we would clear our minds, find a way to solve our problems, and our stress would fade away as well. Elijah went to the mountain of God, went into a cave and fully regained his spiritual power. He was able to find time with God and hear His gentle whisper to hm. Elijah’s heart became renewed. Elijah realized that he was called to a new mission. And after Elijah completed his earthly mission, God took him away to heaven in a chariot of fire. The last way to be free from stress is to pray. We too need to recover from stress by receiving heaven-sent grace. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Strengthen yourself by sleeping and taking nourishment repeatedly and walk regularly. Why don’t you go to Prayer Mountain and have time for prayer? When the Holy Spirit fills your hearts and when God whispers tenderly into your ears, you can say good-by to stress. You can enjoy a stress-free life. Stress cannot cling to you when your heart is focused on God’s voice. There will be no room for stress when you are living under the blessings of God’s grace. Elijah heard God’s voice and received his last mission. He was able to accomplish his mission and God took him up to heaven in a whirlwind. We will probably not go up to heaven dramatically in a whirlwind like Elijah did; but we can be confident that after death we will see God. We will go right into heaven where God is enthroned. What a great comfort to know that we will go to heaven after we die. Brothers and sisters it doesn’t matter when we pass from this life, we have our assured final destination. We have an ultimate goal for our lives. Without a goal, people wander about with great emptiness of heart. They suffer from meaninglessness and futility. Even if we are getting old, we have hope because we know our destination. We are not dragged through nihilism or emptiness. Yes it may be scary when we think about the last part of our life journey. But we know where we are going. We are going to the kingdom in heaven. This place may be unfamiliar to us and we may even be afraid. But why should we be afraid? We will fly with our spirit bodies through the starry sky into heaven. There is not any need to fear and be worried. Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms.” Our Lord will come back and hold our hands. He will take us to be with Him where He is. We don’t need to be afraid. Every one of you belongs to God. You are God’s people. Overcome the stresses of this world and you will ultimately go to the kingdom in heaven. In the name of Jesus I urge you to enjoy God’s glory as His children. The Bible tells us that Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking together until suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Conclusion Our world today is a factory that manufactures stress - ceaseless competition, tension, anxiety, fear, and discouragements. We cannot escape from the stress of life. However, if you follow the life of Jesus, He will set you free from stress. The Bible is telling us in Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” You will not grow weary when you run. The affairs of this world will undoubtedly chase after you but you will not feel tired. You will walk but you will not be faint. You will not bend to stress. Have you ever felt tired even though you may have had plenty of time to rest and enjoy leisure activities? Have you ever felt bored in life? When we put our hope in God we can truly relax. Life is no more tiresome. We can live before God enjoying His blessings in our bodies and souls. We can enjoy fullness of life in Jesus. We are all living in this world of stress but if we shake off greed and hold on to the hand of Jesus we will conquer stress. In the name of Jesus I desire that you would rely on the Lord and overcome every stress of this world. Let us pray! Dear heavenly Father. You are a living God. We all live in a world full of stress; but because You are with us we can shake off greed and live by Your grace. We can face tomorrow with God’s blessing and we will cast our heavy burdens onto You. We thank You and praise You because we are free from stress by Your power in and through us. Father God! Help everyone who suffers under stress today. Let them put all their burdens onto Jesus. Help them overcome stress by Your grace. We eat and drink in your comfort. We sleep and wake by your comfort. We enjoy peace after we shake off all tiresome worries and anxieties. We walk in the fullness of a new life. Let our spirits be filled with the Holy Spirit. Restore us. Let us have a victorious life as God’s people. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. 1